Statement of Faith
A) GOD
God reveals himself in the Scriptures as the living and true God, Creator of all things. Perfect in love and righteous in all his ways this one God exists eternally as a Trinity of persons: The Father, the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit.
Genesis 1: 1, John 10; John 4:24
B) SCRIPTURE
The Scripture of both the Old and New Testaments being given by divine inspiration, are the infallible Word of God, the final and supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct.
2 Tim. 3:1, 17; 2 Pet. 1: 19-21
C) JESUS CHRIST
The only Mediator between God and Man is Jesus Christ our Lord, the Second person of the Trinity, God's Eternal Son, conceived through the Virgin Mary, who as man fully shared and fulfilled our humanity in a life of perfect obedience. By his death on the cross, in our place, Jesus revealed the divine love and upheld divine justice, removing our guilt and reconciling us to God. Having risen bodily from the dead and ascended into heaven, he rules as Lord over all and intercedes for us as our great High Priest until he returns to fulfil His Kingdom.
1 Tim. 2:5; 1 Cor. 15:42-57 Rev. 21:1-8
D) HOLY SPIRIT
I) The Holy Spirit the Third person of the Trinity, through the proclamation of the Gospel persuades us to repent of our sins and confess Jesus as Lord, and renews our hearts.
II) The promised Holy Spirit is given to believers as a deposit, guaranteeing our inheritance. His Spirit, the Counsellor abides in us.
III) Life in the Spirit is what God intends for Christians. We are to walk by the Spirit, we are to exhibit fruit of the Spirit.
IV) We believe the Spirit gives, as He chooses, Spiritual Gifts to seeking believers today. The gifts are given for the edification of His body and bring glory to the Father. Gifts of the Spirit are manifested in an orderly way.
V) As a church, we seek to be led by His Spirit, His Word and God given wisdom. These three will be in agreement.
Eph 1: 14, John 14, Gal 5:25, Heb. 2:4, Heb 13:8,
1 Cor : 12-14, 12:1, 14:3 & 4, 26, 33
E) MAN
God made Man in His image that He might have fellowship with Him. Being estranged by disobedience from God, sinful man is incapable of a right relationship with God apart from divine grace, through faith in Jesus Christ.
Ro. 3:9-23; Eph. 2:1-3
F) CHURCH
We are called into relationship with Jesus, and active fellowship within His body, the church. The church is a joining of individuals under the headship of Christ, who are called to encourage and care for one another, to be light, to share the Gospel, and to serve as Jesus served.
Titus 3:5; 1 Cor. 15:20-23
1 Cor 12:12, Heb 10: 25, 1 Pet 4: 1 0
G) ORDINANCES
We believe that there are two principal Ordinances to be observed by the Church as found in the New Testament:
(a) BAPTISM | The immersion of the believer in water in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, whereby one obeys Christ's command and sets forth his identity with Christ in His death, burial and resurrection, symbolizing Death to Sin and rising with Christ to newness of Life.
Ro. 6:3-5; Math. 28:19
(b) THE LORD'S SUPPER | An invitation is extended to believing Christians to partake in the Lord's Supper, using bread and wine, which symbolizes the New Covenant in the Lord's body and shed blood, proclaiming His death until He comes.
I Cor. 11:23-24
MCC Constitution
Our Values
While vision, mission and goals state the intended outcome, values determine the manner in which we move toward our goals. Values capture the distinction and essence of who we are and how we minister. We will continually endeavour to maintain biblical foundations to our values and their alignment to the areas of ministry we believe the Lord is calling us to.
Relationships
We value relationships as they reflect the true nature of God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit, in perfect love and unity. Of primary importance is our relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and Holy Spirit. We value the Body of Christ, His church, made up of fellow believers from a diverse background of traditions and express this through fellowship and communion together around meals. We value the relationships within the communities we live, work and are called to minister.
Intentionality
We value intentionality by employing strategic activities to develop those within the Body to maturity in Christ. Exhorting and edifying believers through teaching, equipping and practical discipleship so that they identify and employ their gifts and ministries alongside others in the service of God. We value intentional networks of relationships and activities that will enable accomplishment of our vision.
Substance over Form
We value substance over form and will continually seek to discover and express God’s truths in relevant and practical ways while holding to our statement of faith. We desire that the substance our faith will continue to answer life’s questions in a society of accelerating change and that we will be innovative change agents to the world around us.
Word of God
We value the Word of God as scripture inspired by God. That it is fully capable of training and equipping believers for life and ministry. We value teaching and the study of the Word of God. Living it out through service and devotion, modeling to those around us.
Prayer
We value prayer as a means of communication from and to God, developing our personal relationship with Christ. As a Body we value intercessory prayer as a means to lift one another up before God, to seek His will and intervening hand in the national and international affairs.
Mission
We value God’s mission into our local community, into Alberta and Canada and the nations. We believe that the heart of mission is the Gospel of Jesus Christ expressed through both Word and deed in love and that it has the intrinsic power to bring freedom and change to all issues in this world.
Ownership
We value personal ownership that creates integrated members within the Body who express the heartbeat of the church. Ownership is expressed in the “Priesthood of all Believers” by those who participate regularly, giving valuable input and receiving from the body. They represent the Holy Spirit’s direction and ministry in and through the church.
Children & Youth
We value our children and youth members of the Body of Christ. They are our legacy in this world as witnesses for Christ and future leaders in society. Their growth in Christ is important and we encourage them through biblical teaching toward personal study and practical experience in their faith.
Servanthood
We value service to our fellow men as service to God. As we mature in our faith in Christ our desire to serve our fellow man grows. We are compelled to serve others through love, the love of our neighbour, a love we have because Christ loved us first and He demonstrated selfless love and service to us.
Worship & Arts
We value Worship and Arts. Millarville Church places value on gathering together to celebrate the blessings of God in our personal and corporate lives for the encouragement of the body of Christ. We encourage artistic, musical, dramatic or any other expression of thanksgiving and praise that is edifying to the Church and the Lord.
Leadership Development
We value using our gifts and talents to train and equip others. This can be both practical and spiritual gifts. We believe that God has given us all gifts and talents to use, to teach and train others. Leadership is something that is both a natural gift and a process of learned behaviour. This is something that is done intentionally, through relationships guided by prayer and the Word of God.
Team Ministry
We value Team in ministry and leadership. Team provides a context of journeying with one another in the accomplishment of task, while appreciating the diverse gift mix of the individuals. Team offers church overseers an environment for discussion, prayer and consensual agreement. Through the plurality of leadership, team ministry provides a base of collective knowledge, wisdom and accountability. Team provides a safe place of ministry entry and exit for an individual while the team continues moving forward.
Hospitality
We value hospitality as the act or practice of being hospitable; the reception, care and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers and those in need, with liberality and goodwill. The practice of hospitality contains the small seeds of transformation to change lives. We can extend God’s grace by demonstrating hospitality enabling people feel accepted and included as part of an extended family.
Teaching
We value teaching as a means to produce life-change by focusing on the needs of the learners and bringing them into a fuller relationship with God. The foundation of our teaching is in the truth of the Word of God. We value teachers being raised up by God within our own local body, by recognizing their spiritual gifting. We seek to develop and equip those individuals to teach in various ministries of our church. We value teaching others how to study the Word for themselves so that they are interacting with God's Word and the Holy Spirit directly.